


Natural Habitat

by mielipieli



Series: Soft Wars Fanfiction - Fanfiction of Fanfiction [7]
Category: Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, two tiny clone cadets
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-02
Updated: 2020-07-02
Packaged: 2021-03-05 03:53:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,251
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25038052
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mielipieli/pseuds/mielipieli
Summary: The first night on Concord Dawn is slightly overwhelming and with nothing to do, Fox finds himself a quiet spot to sit. A quiet spot, which gets disturbed not once but twice.
Relationships: CC-1010 | Fox & CC-1004 | Gree
Series: Soft Wars Fanfiction - Fanfiction of Fanfiction [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1765462
Comments: 20
Kudos: 152
Collections: Open Source Soft Wars





	Natural Habitat

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Project0506](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Project0506/gifts).



> Mando'a translations at the end :)

Fox is on Concord Dawn just like all the rest of the  _ vode _ and he is currently not needed anywhere. In fact, he was explicitly told to go away and get some sleep. By Ponds. Who  _ claims _ to have slept on the flight here but Fox sees no reason to believe him. 

The command tent was full, probably still is now, despite the  _ Shebse’s  _ efforts to clear it of anyone not desperately needed. When Ponds asked him to leave, voice low and calm, his eyes flickered over to Cody, who was in a ring of  _ vode _ , who are desperate to help, desperately want to be a part of the planning.

Fox understood. He was their neighbor growing up, spent enough time with Ponds even then that he’d absorbed little bits and pieces of how all of his squadmates acted, how they held themselves when they were tired, angry, afraid. And Fox might not be able to place whatever that expression on Cody’s face is but he knows that the  _ Shebse _ know and that they’re doing the best to accommodate it.

But Fox can’t sleep and he  _ definitely _ can’t sit somewhere with company right now (He could if it was Ponds’ company, his traitorous mind whispers and he shuts it down because Cody  _ needs _ to be Ponds’ priority right now - none of this will go well if their  _ ‘alor _ has a meltdown in front of fifty Commanders, no matter how justified - and he  _ knows _ that.), so he’s left sitting between supply crates where  _ hopefully _ no one will find him. 

The steps become audible right when he has that thought because of course they do, his life is just cursed that way. He doesn’t expect the Littles, who stare at him with wide eyes and pull themselves into something resembling attention. 

His heart clenches: “Hey, what are you doing up?” He  _ tries _ to sound gentle but this isn’t really his strong suit.

“Sir”, the left one says.

“Fox”, he interrupts before the kid can continue. “Just Fox.”

The Littles look more nervous at that, having now been brought into wholly unfamiliar territory and they don’t say anything at all. 

He tries again, takes very careful control of his voice now: “Shouldn’t you be sleeping?”

The left one looks guilty. 

The right one retains careful composure: “We’ve never slept anywhere but inside before.” There’s a hint of amazement in his voice that pushes through the played neutrality. 

“Ah”, Fox can’t help but smile. “There’s too much excitement going on. I was told to go to bed, too.”

“Can Commanders be told to go to bed?”, the left one asks, full of curiosity.

“By friends, yes. By  _ ‘alor _ , too”, he pauses and the Littles watch him, hold their breath, knowing something else is coming. “And by medics.  _ Everyone _ can be told to go to bed by medics.”

“Even  _ ‘alor _ ?”

Fox nods solemnly: “Yes, even  _ ‘alor _ .”

It’s easy, somehow, talking to the Littles. Easy to know what to say.

“And who are you?”, Fox asks. He doesn’t ask for their names since they probably don’t have them, yet. 

“Squad Edee”, says the right one. “I’m CT-48-8561 and that’s CT-48-5990.”   
  


Fox grins: “My squad was called  _ Edee _ , too.”

“Really?”, ‘90 asks. 

“Really”, Fox nods. “Do you want to sit with me for a while?”

He tells them stories, stripped of any gory details, of any insults to the  _ vode _ . And with the characters turned into caricatures of themselves. He gives them different names, swaps some letters around. ‘90 and ‘61 are avid listeners, ask the occasional question.

They sit at his sides and drift closer over time until they’re half lying on top of him, fast asleep and curled up tight. 

He should get them back to whoever was supposed to watch them. They’ll be missed at some point. Once that  _ vod _ starts doing their job. But they look so peaceful, lying there now and Fox doesn’t really want to disturb them. 

He settles on messaging Ponds, who’s presumably still sitting in the Command tent with the rest of the  _ Shebse _ and will gladly reprimand whoever managed to lose two Littles. 

_ Private Message _

_ Fox: Two Littles from Squad Edee, CT-48-5990 and CT-48-8561, were walking around unsupervised. I’m watching them now. _

The reply is almost immediate.

_ Private Response _

_ Ponds: Where are you? I’ll send someone for pickup. _

_ Private Response _

_ Fox: Negative _

_ Private Response _

_ Ponds: :D _

Fox falls asleep himself at some point but jerks awake at the first sign of danger, at the sound of someone in armor approaching. It takes only a moment for Fox to relax, just as long as it takes him to evaluate the situation and realize that it was probably just a  _ vod _ , that a lot would have to have gone wrong for it to be anyone else. 

It’s Gree, who probably found Fox on purpose. Fox scowls at him as he takes a holo.

“What do you want, Gree?”, Fox asks, keeping his voice carefully frigid. 

Gree sits down and takes off his bucket: “Just checking on you. You don’t tend do well with emotions.”

“Thanks for that glorious revelation,  _ majyc’mirsh _ .” Fox would cross his arms if they weren’t being held captive by ‘61 and ‘90.

Gree doesn’t react to the sarcasm or the implied insult but Fox didn’t expect him to, anyway.

“We’re home,  _ vod _ ”, Gree says instead and his voice sounds like it’s about to break. 

Fox kicks at his greaves: “Don’t you dare start crying on me.”

Gree shakes his head: “He did it. He actually kriffing did it”, he says. And with a laugh he adds: “Squad  _ Shebs _ was nuts from the get-go.”

And that’s a statement Fox will definitely not disagree with. It takes a certain kind of craziness to think that you could just walk away from the Republic and actually get away with it. That’s the thing, Fox supposes. He’s still waiting for the other shoe to drop. He can’t believe that they might get away with it. 

“Ah, you don’t believe it, yet”, Gree says. 

Fox’s head snaps up to look at him and Gree is watching him, his lips tight and his eyes knowing in that way that always makes Fox’s skin crawl. 

“No”, he admits. 

“Cody has never done anything that he didn’t know he could get away with. He doesn’t take a risk that hasn’t been carefully calculated.”

Fox knows that. He’s spent enough time planning every minor detail of this with Cody that he knows there’s backup plan of the backup plan of the backup plan and going about ten plans back. But there’s always elements no one can plan for. There’s what ifs too unlikely to even consider that no one can do anything about anyway. And they may be  _ unlikely _ but they’re not  _ impossible _ . 

This is still the biggest karking risk any of them have ever taken. Because it isn’t a battalion at risk here or even a karking Systems’ Army. This is  _ everyone _ . All of the  _ vode _ who aren’t already marching far away. All there’ll ever be. 

But Fox doesn’t say any of that. Instead, he says: “I’m terrified.” 

“Me, too”, Gree replies.

  
And then there’s silence between them. But there’s stars above them and the smell of actual karking nature and Fox doesn’t remember when he last got either of those. And there’s the Littles at his sides who will never know war. Who will never have to take some natborn’s insult because they’ll be  _ free _ . And that’s enough for the risk to be worth it. 

**Author's Note:**

>  _Mando'a Translations_  
>  'alor - short for Vod'alor aka Cody  
> edee - teeth  
> shebs - ass, in this context squad name of Cody, Bly, Wolffe, Ponds and Rex  
> majyc’mirsh - genius, lit. extra brain 
> 
> The last one is a word that the awesome [sailorsol](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SailorSol/pseuds/SailorSol) came up with. (Thank you, sol. I love the word. It's mine now.) It's probably used a bit more sarcastic than "genius" (try telling someone "he's got some extra brain" and not sounding sarcastic) and (since it's not from any official Mando’a translations) probably specific to the vode dialect.


End file.
